Where I ramble about dream-eyed thoughts, photographic contemplations, and poetic administrations.
It finally happened - I lost access to my stupid Microsoft account and have now lost access to all my One Drive files too. It was my fault. Well, mine and the chaotic digital mess of usernames and passwords and emails we have to keep track of in the 21st century. I won't even bother to go into the stupid details. After going through the recovery process many times and even raising a ticket,…
My late grandfather was heavily involved in the union movement in the North of England. Fighting for the miners, he organised pickets and strike action. In the end, he underwent electro-shock treatment for what I can only imagine would have been anxiety and stress. Back then, they might have called it a nervous breakdown. I'm not too sure. After this, my mother says he just wasn't the same man. I…
I read an article some weeks ago about the prevailing age: we're driven to optimise and make everything more efficient. We apply this philosophy not only to our software and business, but also to ourselves: extend life, optimise exercise routines, make use of our time more efficient . But, why? We're not software, are we? Marketing, profit, and recognition, perhaps, motivate the thinking and…
Lately, I'm just over it. The madmen, the tyrants, and the greedy have taken over the wheel, and I feel like darker times are ahead. I got to thinking about what hobbies I do that aren't reliant on a computer. Photography can be decoupled easily enough - go back to film and chemicals. Music making depends on digital tools, but could also be taken offline via instruments and recording. Writing can…
I'm not going to name people or post a dozen links to example posts. I don't even check the Bear Discover feed every week, let alone every day. But it’s clear that one blogger called out another blogger here for, supposedly, meta-blogging positive posts about nothing and gaming the feed consistently. This produced a chain reaction of replies and follow-up posts. The included list of synonyms for…
We're in a post-ai time. At least, it feels that way. There was a time when nobody was talking about it, and now it's everywhere - saturated feeds, ai music, ai photos, vibe coding. I'm completely sick of it. I know it's being pushed as inevitable and the next stage in human evolution because some socially awkward, bored, power-hungry billionaires are trying to reshape the world as they see fit…
It's a given that when someone asks if they should be using generative ai in their D&D worldbuilding , polarised arguments will happen. On one side are bitter arguments about outsourcing thinking, cognitive laziness, and environmental damage. On the other, laissez-faire arguments that boil down to - use whatever you want and have fun. I, of course, am against use of ai in creative endeavours like…
Everytime I hear the term content creator , I cringe. Actually, I feel some brain cells die. I hate that term. You are NOT a writer anymore - you're a content creator. You don't make photos or art - you make content for the digital satanic mills called YouTube, Facebook, and others. You give them time and creative labour for free and they sell you out. That great thing you wrote? Content. That…
I've recently taken up the ink and started scribbling again. Very amateurishly, obviously, but that’s ok. At a time when ai seems to be infecting every thought, feeling, and behaviour, drawing anything, however poorly, feels like going against the grain. That’s my group of ghouls in ink and water soluble graphite. I really like the look of the graphite. It adds some depth and textural interest,…
everything is so played out. couch-bound entrepreneurs who use ai to cheat money from people. substack growth hackers who monetise zero-value wellness junk from day one. so lazy. you can't do it? can't write it? too bad. don't use ai to cheat your way into money. ai is largely crap. it hurts the planet, drains water tables, turns brains to mush because people outsource their thinking. but they'll…